Because Of The Twins.... Carole Halston

He’d give her a key to his condo and a ballpark budget and say, “Do it.”

      There shouldn’t be any need for consultations. She would have a free hand. She could come during the day while he was at work. Call him a coward, but he didn’t trust himself to be around her and keep his guard up. He was too attracted to her, too tempted to be friends.

      Graham closed his eyes and let himself visualize Holly as she’d looked that morning standing outside his door in her jeans and T-shirt. Honey-blond hair tucked behind her ears in a casual style. A warm smile on her lips and her pretty blue eyes alight with humor and intelligence. Definitely a nice sight that had stirred pleasure in him even in his unhappy state of mind.

      As tired as he was tonight, lying there in the darkness of his living room wearing nothing but his underwear, it would be easy to fantasize about Holly and get himself turned on sexually. Easy, but totally stupid. Graham sat up abruptly, dropping the cordless phone in the process.

      He snapped on a lamp and searched for the TV remote, finally locating it under a chair cushion. After thirty minutes of mindless channel surfing, he glanced at his watch and decided he should go ahead and call Holly tonight. He figured she would appreciate finding out this weekend that she needed to schedule in time for turning his study into a bedroom for the twins.

      Graham delayed long enough to drag on his jeans before he looked up Holly’s home number. It was silly, but he felt too vulnerable talking to her in a near-naked state.

      She answered and sounded awake but extremely relaxed.

      “Hi, it’s Graham,” he said. “I took the chance you might still be up.”

      “No problem. Did you make up your mind?”

      “Yes, it was pretty much a no-brainer. I called to give you the go-ahead on the bedroom project.” Did he hear water splashing?

      “Fine.”

      Now gurgling sounds.

      “Whoops! I almost slipped,” she gasped.

      “What are you doing?”

      “Getting out of the bathtub. I took a long, hot soak.”

      Thanks for sharing that with me, Graham thought dryly, captivated by an X-rated vision of a nude Holly, all wet and rosy-skinned and smelling of sweetly scented soap.

      “Why don’t I call you back in a few minutes?” he suggested.

      “Just hold on a second while I wrap myself in a towel. Okay,” she said after several seconds. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”

      He was too taken aback to reply immediately. “If I work up the courage, I might venture out to the supermarket with the twins and buy their kind of cereal and some cookies. Other than that, I’m playing tomorrow by ear. Why?”

      “I’d like to come by and see the room. The sooner I get started, the sooner I’ll be finished and out of your hair.”

      “Sure, you can come by,” he said, none too happy over the leap of his pulse at the prospect of seeing her tomorrow. “What’s best for you, morning or afternoon?”